Ventnor

Road works at Ventnor detour us up a steep hill with a sharp bend, preventing us from parking in the car park of the Botanic Garden, however there is plenty of parking along the side of the road so we tuck in behind another van of a similar size and save ourselves £5.oo. http://www.botanic.co.uk/

Having parked up, we booted up, packed a rucksack and headed off to Bonchurch. We soon reached the Tea rooms and sat down to a cuppa and a rock cake, a bread pudding was saved for  later £4.50.

 Devils Chimney next, a cleft in the cliff,   legend   says by smugglers. This narrow   stairway leads     down to the "Landslip",   which can be explored in   both directions,   Shanklin or Ventnor. We head   for Ventnor   and soon are walking along the Coastal   Footpath.

 We lunch on a bench in Ventnor,     unfortunately   we have to face away from   the  sea view as it is very windy and cold. Our path soon leads to the gates of the Botanic Garden, which is a fabulous collection of plants representing different areas of the world. We spent the £1.oo entrance fee to view

the Greenhouse collection ( very hot). A further mile up the hill and we are back at the van and the short drive back to the campsite.